Abstract / Summary
Aims: Although combining long-acting injectable antipsychotics (LAIs) with psychosocial treatments for schizophrenia is important, psychiatrists' attitudes toward this approach remain underexplored. We investigated Japanese psychiatrists' perceptions of combining atypical LAIs with psychosocial interventions.
Methods: An anonymous cross-sectional web-based survey was administered to 1038 mid-career Japanese psychiatrists, of whom 69 provided complete responses. Participants' general attitude toward recommending atypical LAIs was dichotomized as positive or negative/neutral, and they rated on a 4-point scale the usefulness of combining atypical LAIs with five psychosocial interventions: (1) psychosocial treatment (e.g., psychoeducation), (2) day/night care, (3) community care, (4) financial/employment support, and (5) housing support.
Results: Thirty-nine respondents held a positive attitude toward recommending atypical LAIs, whereas 30 held a negative/neutral attitude. A positive attitude was significantly associated with perceiving the combination as useful for psychosocial treatment (p = 0.038), financial/employment support (p = 0.015), and housing support (p = 0.041), but not for day/night care (p = 0.090) or community care (p = 0.079). Free-text rationales most commonly cited improved adherence and relapse prevention, enhanced illness insight, and synergistic effects as reasons for valuing the combination.
Conclusions: This exploratory study suggests that mid-career Japanese psychiatrists, particularly those with a favorable attitude toward atypical LAIs, perceive the combination of LAIs with psychosocial support not merely as an adherence tool but as a synergistic strategy promoting broader functional recovery. Because respondents represent a small, predominantly male, self-selected sample, the generalizability of the findings is limited.